Merino Wool... ultimate survival cloth?

kdstrick

kdstrick

Joined
May 27, 2007
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I have recently purchased some clothing made from Merino wool. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it is a thin, breathable, soft wool (not scratchy at all), and it regulates temperature very well. Another huge benefit is that it does not hold the 'stink' in like synthetics as it is naturally anti-microbal. Backpackers wear the stuff for days at a time.

The only negatives I can think of are 1) price, and 2) can't dry in the dryer... have to lay them out to dry.

You guys need to try this stuff out... it is really amazing. :thumbup: I can't think of anything better for outdoor activity.

How about you guys... any experience with this stuff?
 
..I've got a couple sets of long johns made out of merino wool. ..they are expensive, but worth their (little)weight.
 
Icebreaker, Ibex and Smartwool are the only baselayers I wear. Theres nothing better. It dries fast. Keeps you warm when wet and breathes well. It also doesnt hold an odor like synthetics either. The great thing about Icebreaker is they make most of there stuff in a loden color which is great for hunting. If you want the best baselayer clothing check out Icebreaker. Merino wool really makes a difference in all aspects.
 
+10 on Merino wool I got a two piece long johns for backpacking.. Went for 7 days and it didnt smell whats so ever. I did air it out every day . As for comfort, Very soft and feels good aginst the skin. Its not as warm as some synthetics but for more then a day hike... I would only buy wool. The ones i got were the middle weight from REI. Mext purches would be the heavy weight. But as you pointed out KdsTrick, care has to be taken.
 
I like it a lot. Some of my merino items haven't been quite as durable as I'd like but, heh, you can't have everything made out of Filson Double Tincloth!

DancesWithKnives
 
Best stuff goin. Now try out the Woolpower brand. You can even wash it in hot water. Plus it is knit like terrycloth so it insulates even better.
 
I use wool as well :thumbup:

It's fire retardness makes it a very good outer layer as well when sitting around the campfire at night.


Kind regards
Mick
 
Yeah Merino is real nice although I have found it not to be as hard wearing as regular wool or wool/poly mixes.
As a base layer it takes some beating !!!!
 
kdstrick said:
I have recently purchased some clothing made from Merino wool. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it is a thin, breathable, soft wool (not scratchy at all), and it regulates temperature very well. Another huge benefit is that it does not hold the 'stink' in like synthetics as it is naturally anti-microbal. Backpackers wear the stuff for days at a time.

The only negatives I can think of are 1) price, and 2) can't dry in the dryer... have to lay them out to dry.

You guys need to try this stuff out... it is really amazing. :thumbup: I can't think of anything better for outdoor activity.

How about you guys... any experience with this stuff?
Click to expand...

I have a smartwool beanie and a few pairs of socks for hiking/mountain biking. Yes sir, it is the ultimate cloth IMO. :thumbup:
 
I'm sure you'll be happy to learn that I live in a rural area that grows the best Merino wool on the planet. :)

It is excellent stuff. In fact a bale of the finest wool yet grown, 11 microns, was produced on a sheep station not far from me. Sold for about $250,000.

Next time you buy that $30,000 Italian wool suit it might have some of it in it. :D

A bit of trivia for you: About 80% of Merino wool in the world comes from here in Oz.

Yeah, yeah, I know, who cares, but I sort of like the idea of being in the centre of superfine wool country. ;)
 
gajinoz said:
I'm sure you'll be happy to learn that I live in a rural area that grows the best Merino wool on the planet. :)

It is excellent stuff. In fact a bale of the finest wool yet grown, 11 microns, was produced on a sheep station not far from me. Sold for about $250,000.

Next time you buy that $30,000 Italian wool suit it might have some of it in it. :D

A bit of trivia for you: About 80% of Merino wool in the world comes from here in Oz.

Yeah, yeah, I know, who cares, but I sort of like the idea of being in the centre of superfine wool country. ;)
Click to expand...

$250K...:eek: WOW!

Hell, I don't feel that bad about dropping $50 for a shirt!
 
Now I don't feel so bad about the cost of that Brioni suit I had to buy at Needless Markups for my last job!

DancesWithKnives
 
After being able to buy the stuff below cost for a while, I have a bit too much of it. :o

Icebreaker is easily my favorite brand, with the best quality and styling out of any of the merino brands I have tried, and I have tried Icebreaker, Ibex, Smartwool, Mountain Hardwear, Arc'Teryx, and a few other brands. I am so used to wearing it that when I wore a polyester hoody yesterday, I kept on thinking "why do I feel so cold and uncomfortable?" until I realized that I wasn't wearing merino. :)

Seriously, buy some (on sale) and you will be amazed. Go with the better brands though, because they buy more merino and get the better quality wool. I read once that Icebreaker was buying something like 80% of New Zealand's merino, so you know that they get the best stuff, and it shows in their products. I have had some merino from lesser known brands that made only one or two items out of it and the quality and softness just wasn't there. Backcountry.com actually has a private line of the stuff that is really nice, and you can find it on sale in their outlet or deal sites pretty regularly.

Icebreaker's Tech T Lite is awesome, easily the best performing year round t-shirt I have ever seen. It keeps you cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and is super comfortable. Between that and REI's Sahara Tech T, that's about all I wear for shirts anymore, unless it's the long sleeve version of either shirt.
 
I don't wear any other brand of socks than Smartwool. I recently got a pair of Smartwool longjohns in the Merino and they can't be beat if you ask me.
 
From a military prospective I love it! Doesn't stink as quick at the synthetics and won't melt to you in a fire/IED strike.
 
That's why I never wear that other microfiber stuff. 2 minutes of walking around in an underarmor shirt and I already smell like a gym
 
I'm getting the impression that in order to get reasonable softness, you have to shell out some money? I bought two sweaters from goodwill that were 100% merino... I wore one for about 15 minutes, took it off, and have used both for cat bedding ever since - the stuff does not feel good next to my skin. I can tolerate wool on my feet, barely. But then I'm also one of those people who cuts the tags out of my clothing, so I might just have to wait till I get rich and then buy Alpaca or something.
 
I grow fine wool merino sheep for a living in Victoria Australia.Although i am probably a little biased most clothing designers will tell you that it makes the best clothing in the world.The only bad press is the prickle factor,this comes from wool that is above 19 micron in diamiter,this is the stuff used in thick heavy jumpers and socks,the finer wool is softer and can be spun verry fine.This is what i grow,15 to 18 micron wool, and it gets used for high end fashion and under garments.Its really great to hear such positive comments about wool,with idiots like PETTA wageing war against our industry its hard to get the good word out there.Spread the positives and help keep hundreds of us farmers in a job making renuable biodegradable natural fiber thats hard to beat.
 
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